Exciting AI Innovations from Apple May Soon Arrive on Your iPhone

Apple is delving into artificial intelligence (AI) technology with a focus on developing on-device AI capabilities, according to recently published research papers. These papers showcase Apple’s work on creating animatable avatars and running large language models (LLMs) on iPhones or iPads.

One research project, called “LLM in a flash,” aims to efficiently run LLMs on devices with limited memory, enabling complex AI applications to run smoothly on iPhones or iPads. This could potentially lead to running a generative-AI-powered Siri on-device, allowing it to assist with various tasks, generate text, and improve natural language processing.

Another project, called “HUGS” (Human Gaussian Splats), is a method for creating fully animatable avatars from short video clips captured on an iPhone. HUGS is a neural rendering framework that can generate detailed avatars in as little as 30 minutes using only a few seconds of video.

These advancements in on-device AI have implications for the future of the iPhone and its Vision Pro capabilities. Apple is reportedly working on its own AI chatbot, referred to as “Apple GPT,” which could benefit from the efficient LLM inference strategy developed through “LLM in a flash.” Additionally, HUGS could enhance the personalization and realism of avatars used in social media, gaming, education, and augmented reality (AR) applications on iPhones.

HUGS outperforms competing methods by providing rendering speeds 100 times faster and significantly shorter training times. It could revolutionize experiences on the Apple Vision Pro, particularly in terms of its Digital Persona feature, which could benefit from realistic, user-controlled avatars. With real-time rendering, HUGS also has the potential to improve AR experiences and enhance social, gaming, and professional applications.

While Apple tends to focus on machine learning rather than explicitly using the term “AI,” these research papers indicate a deeper involvement in AI technologies. However, Apple has yet to officially confirm its implementation of generative AI into its products or its work on Apple GPT.